Internet in Spain

The internet in Spain has gotten off to a slow start because of the high cost of local calls and the relative lack of computers, although there has been a tremendous increase in internet usage due to lower prices for both calls and computers. Spain now takes the internet very serious. Ease of communication through modern technology has given us the freedom to be almost anywhere in the world and still remain in contact.

Easy access to internet connection and reasonable prices are making the idea of moving to Spain permanently much more enticing to foreigners. Foreigners can be basking in the Spanish sun, taking advantage of the more relaxed lifestyle and still have a lifeline to everything back home. Now, you can be in the Spanish countryside and still wake up and read your countries Sunday paper……. on line!

Telefonica has a monopoly on the telephone market in Spain so no matter where you are in Spain you will go through them to set up your internet service. Telefonica may be one of the richest companies in Spain but unfortunately they have the worst customer service, worse yet, there is no way to avoid using their services. Through them you will use Infovia, a local call internet access network to connect you to your chosen Internet Service provider (ISP). There are plenty of ISP's to choose from at reasonable monthly fees.

Connecting to the internet costs the same as local calls. However, there are different types of monthly plans depending on your monthly usage of the internet. Those addicted to the net will be pleased to hear that the companies have special discount plans to save your phone bill from heavy internet usage. These generally will allow you to buy a fixed number of access hours per month at a discount. There are also companies who charge an annual amount for internet and e-mail services. Take note that any unused hours in a month aren’t refundable and if you go over your contracted number of hours the excess time is charged at the normal rate.

Telefónica’s Bononet offers:
Peak daytime hours (8am to 8pm Mon-Fri):
• 50 hours - EUR 45.98 per month
• 10 hours - EUR 12.62 per month

Nighttime hours (10pm to 8am Mon-Fri) and weekends:
• 50 hours - EUR 18.03 per month
• 10 hours - EUR 5.11.

Bono Ciudad Plus service:
• A combination of local and Internet call charges where you purchase 600-minutes a month for EUR 8.41.

Tarifa Plana offers:
• Evenings and weekends - EUR 20.00 per month
• 24 hour access - EUR 60.00 per month.

For free Internet Connection (no monthly charge and calls at local rates) you should sign up with one of the portals (see list below) owned by one of the telephone companies. Once you have signed up, they will assist you in registering online or over the phone, (ISP's in Spain do not give out auto install CD Roms). You will be given all the data to set up a connection yourself: User Name, Password, Phone Number to Dial, and DNS settings.

-Wanadoo (www.wanadoo.es) connection by Uni2. Click on the button 'Conecion Gratis'
-Metro Red Online (www.metrored-online.com or 0034 952 880032)
-Arrakis (www.arrakis.es or 902 020100) for a economic paid connection

*Internet service provided free by some companies can be extremely slow and/or clogged up with their publicity, making access difficult and results in expensive telephone charges.

Once you are connected to the net you will want to send and receive emails. This can be done from any web browser to email account. Whether you are using Internet Explorer, Outlook Express or another company for sending and receiving emails you can set up a second account and download your emails from your English and Spanish ISP's POP account at the same time regardless of which country you are in. Make note of your user name, password and POP mail server name before you leave home. Remember however you must send all emails through the mail (SMTP) server of the ISP with whom you actually connect to the net with. Having an ISP in both countries avoids the need for making international calls in this respect.

Broadband internet (ADSL) is now available in most of Spain’s urban areas, although you should check with your telephone company that the service is available where you are. Rural areas are less well-served and some more remote areas don’t have ADSL facilities at all. Advantages of ADSL include fast internet access and the possibility of being able to access your phone line at the same time as the internet. However, monthly charges are high and unless you use the Internet for several hours daily, it’s probably cheaper to use the conventional Internet. ADSL Broadband will cost you about EUR180 to install including free modem and about 35 Euro a month line rental for the standard 256k bandwidth.